Thoughts on poverty and homelessness in the U.S.A.

Posts tagged ‘benjamin franklin’

It’s the day after Halloween. I hadn’t kept up this blog in nearly a year. But this Halloween season brings me back to one of the reasons why I’ve neglected this blog: Creeps. Scary, creepy creeps. They watch you, find out your political beliefs differ from theirs (or from those who are in power), and they hunt you down (or those in power send them to hunt you down.) There are lots of creeps out and about these days. That’s why the surveillance cameras are out and about–so the creeps can watch you more closely!

Boo!

I once looked out my bedroom window and saw that a surveillance camera on a building across the parking lot faced my room. I’m sure it wasn’t powerful enough to photograph me in my bedroom though. Nah. Besides, the people behind the camera aren’t interested in me, right? They’re interested in capturing criminals. And I’m not a criminal. I am often critical of the government but that’s not against the law, right? We have the freedom to express our opinions, even when some wealthy, powerful people don’t like what we have to say, right? I’d like to ask experts such as Michael Hastings or Edward Snowden about this but, sadly, neither is available for comment at this time and for different reasons. But I think I’m right in saying that we Americans have freedom of speech and without any repercussions, right? Nothing bad happens to us when we criticize the government because we have every right to do so, as we live in a free and democratic country. Our government is run by and for the people. Our laws exist to help us. They exist for our own good.

Ehem. (Sorry, had toclear my throat. Allergies, you see. Allergies.)

On another occasion, I walked into a public restroom and entered a stall. Guess what I saw when I looked up? Yep, a surveillance camera. And if I could see it from the toilet then… Well, you know. (If you can see the camera, usually the camera can see you too. Ho!) When I confronted the receptionist in the building, she insisted the camera wasn’t near the toilets. Oh, but it was, my friend. It was. She then explained there were crimes being committed in the bathroom…

(My guess is that the “crimes” she was referring to were homeless people looking for a place to spend the night. Or perhaps people using more toilet paper than they really should. Women use more toilet paper than men, okay? So what’s the problem? We can’t help it. It’s biology, ya’ know. Does it cost an extra dollar per day to operate a women’s restroom due to the toilet paper shortage? Is that why you want to spy on me when I pee? To intimidate me so I don’t use your bathroom and you can save on toilet paper costs? Are you going to start limiting the number of toilet paper squares per person per day? What of those of us with allergies who must use extra toilet paper on occasion? Oh, what’s to become of us?)

Okay, so that fear of toilet paper thievery gives you the right to watch me pee? Yes, yes, I understand the stress that a toilet paper shortage can cause. Americans don’t like to help each other anymore, so heaven forbid that the person in the adjacent stall hands you a “spare square” out of the goodness of her heart. But seriously, does watching me pee help you to prevent crime? Sorry, but I’m confused on this one. I like to think of myself as an educated person but… Please explain. I’ve used numerous public restrooms all over the country and have yet to see a crime committed in one of them. Nor have I felt fearful of using the bathroom, though I’m sure you’d like me to develop that kind of fear. But I’m fearless in that respect, so boo on you! (Actually the thing that scares me is you–you and your darn obsession with fear, surveillance, and control!)

Yep, the boo’s on you!

But it seems most Americans are okay with the surveillance–even in the bathrooms. And that’s the most disturbing thing of all.

“As long as nothing’s happened to me, I don’t care,” is the response I usually hear. In other words, “I only care about myself. Why should I care about anyone else?” Selfishness and greed keep Americans from unionizing and fighting for each other instead of against each other. And that’s the real reason this country’s falling apart.

Boo again!

But what happens when the people behind the surveillance cameras are the criminals themselves? (They’ll use the cameras to spy on us so that we can’t prevent them from committing crimes.)

What happens when laws are written up by lawbreakers? (They’ll break the law by creating laws that break the law, laws that violate our Constitution and Bill of Rights, for example.)

What happens when what I think is right equals what they think is wrong and vice versa? (They’ll arrest me for doing what I think is right but offer me a reward if I just start doing things that I think are wrong.)

When an unpatriotic law that violates the very principles a country was founded upon is called “The Patriot Act” and forced upon the people by a government that claims to be run by and for the people? (Then a country is no longer democratic and its government has become a terrorist–a wealthy, powerful and very dangerous terrorist that is itself unpatriotic and an enemy to the very people it claims to protect and serve.) Much scarier than Halloween, right? Lions and tigers and bears–tasers and cameras and drones, oh my!

Boo!

Boo? Who?

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. He’s just there to watch you and make sure you’re not doing anything he decides is “wrong.” (So you shouldn’t be watching him.)

We need to protect his privacy, so we won’t tell you who he is or why he’s spying on you, but we will tell you this: He’s conducting an in-depth investigation of you. But you have nothing to worry about because you haven’t done anything wrong… so just pretend you’ve never heard this. In fact, this is an order: keep your mouth shut! Don’t tell anyone, or else! He’s going to find out when and where you were born, whom you sleep with currently, when you first had sex (oops, said the “s” word, sorry–please don’t tell me that’s illegal now too–I’m allergic to fascism, makes me sneeze, wheeze, and break out into hives), how you did it, why you did it, what you said to the guy/gal when you were done, and how your parents reacted. Oh, and what were you wearing that day? That’s important too. Might be a clue that will lead us to the terrorists. After all, terrorists have sex too. And they often wear clothes. So what you’re wearing and how, when and where you have sex are all related to capturing terrorists. Yes, in this way, having sex is a lot like carrying a full-sized tube of toothpaste on an airplane. Terrorists do it, so if you do it, you might be a terrorist too. “Birds do it, terrorists do it, even educated fleas do it…” Hmm… Sounds a lot like a song.

(By the way, in many states there are laws regulating sexual activity. To be frank (or anyone really), certain types of sex acts are illegal. This indicates that those in power have had an interest for a very long time now in monitoring what we do in the privacy of our own homes. (And this is not only true in the United States.) If we agree to surveillance cameras being necessary for stopping crime then we must agree to the placement of such cameras in our bedrooms and bathrooms, since laws exist that regulate what we can/can not do with our erstwhile “private” parts. In fact, since sex is being regulated, we could justify surveillance cameras being placed everywhere. The police could watch us pee, just to make sure we’re not engaging in a sex act while going to the bathroom. And, of course, new laws could be enacted that regulate how, when and where we can pee, as peeing “improperly” could offend the people who are watching us.) Many surveillance cameras are also equipped with microphones so they can hear us pee too. So they’ll know if we’re pretending to pee. And if we threaten to kill the President while we pee, they’ll hear that too, and that will keep us safe from terrorism. Oh there’s so much the surveillance cameras can do for the powers that be! The possibilities for oppressing and controlling the masses are endless! Insert maniacal laughter here… Mwoo ha ha!!!

The man behind the NSA/DHS curtain also needs to know where you went to school, what you studied, and why you never chose college. Why did you drop that Poli Sci class? Was it too hard for you? Did you really think your 8th grade teacher was sexy? What are your favorite foods, songs, socks, underwear? Why did you stop dating that man? Why did you stop shopping at that store? Why are you attracted to men who are blonde? Why do they need to be tall? Why do you listen to heavy metal, i.e., the devil’s music? Why don’t you go to church? Why don’t you drive a nice car like everyone else in your neighborhood? Why are you taking a bus–are you a drug dealer? He needs to know all these things, but don’t worry. He’s looking for terrorists and drug dealers. And that’s not you…yet.

What’s a terrorist?

Well, I’m glad you asked that because you might be one, depending on what we decide one is. Right now, a terrorist is anyone who reads the Koran. Tomorrow, it might be anyone who doesn’t read the Bible. So pay attention. We’ll inform you of what you can/can’t read…I mean… that is to say… we’ll inform you of what conditions you’ll need to meet in order to be/not be a “terrorist” by our standards. And remember, our standards may change at any time and with little or no notice.

But usually we’ll tell you ahead of time. We’ll broadcast it all over the media, and it’ll be mainstream news as soon as we know what our current definition of “terrorist” will be. In the meantime, just relax and allow us to surveil you. Pretty soon, you’ll get used to it, and you’ll just know intuitively what it is we want/don’t want you to say or do. Right now, we’re all just going through a transformation, but don’t worry. Your children will grow up accustomed to being under constant surveillance, so it won’t be so hard for them. It’ll just be normal. If they get rebellious and start thinking out-of-the norm, i.e., “terrorist” thoughts, we’ll just prevent them from finding jobs so they won’t be able to influence our society with their rebellious thoughts. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll send them to a mental institution or, better yet, to Guantanamo. But don’t worry about that either. We’ll apply a few of our enhanced interrogation techniques. That’ll destroy their terrorist thinking. Within a short time, they’ll learn their lesson and be back home before you even knew they were gone. They probably won’t even remember what happened to them–or much of anything else anymore. (Thanks to the National Defense Authorization Act, which works quite well with the Patriot Act, we don’t need to even tell you or anyone else that we’ve arrested your children. So you need not worry about them at all. When they disappear, just know they’ll magically reappear, as soon as we’re done with them.) –Maniacal laugh continues, gradually gets louder until it’s all you can hear. It drowns out all other sounds. Even the television set, that brainwashing tool, can no longer be heard. Mwoo ha ha! MWOO HA HA! HAHAHA!

I don’t know what is happening within other Occupies across the US and the world, but in my town there have been ego clashes, fighting, people being “kicked out” or just discouraged from participating. Many people who support the Occupiers’ alleged goals have felt unwelcome and have chosen not to get involved, as the environment has become so negative. Some have branched off and started their own Occupy. This has angered the original Occupiers who are now arguing back and forth, primarily via the Internet, about whose movement is better. Seriously, people? Do you expect to be taken seriously?

To be fair, the winter season does factor in on this somewhat. As the weather gets stormy, cold and unpleasant, we’ve seen fewer activists and more people who just have no choice but to camp out at Occupy. They join, not necessarily because they want to make the world a better place, but because they are seeking a safe place where they can remain homeless. (I’m not criticizing the homeless either. This entire blog is written from the point of view of a formerly homeless and currently financially struggling working class person–and a real, bonafide 99 percenter!) But I think the point of camping out in front of government buildings was to address the government with our grievances, not to solicit free food donations from the community. Sadly, our government isn’t listening to us. Writing/calling Congress doesn’t seem to make a difference, but if we camp out in tents in front of their offices…well, how can they ignore us then? That was, I think, the original point. But now the encampment in my town has turned into something else, something ugly, something I can’t support. A sort of “group think” has set in as campers versus those who don’t camp, original protestors vs. newbies, meeting attendees vs. those who don’t have time to attend, and men who want to dominate versus women who feel disenfranchised vs. women who don’t feel that other women should complain about sexism compete with each other as to who and what this supposedly democratic movement is about!

And time and time again, I’ve approached this Occupy and seen an increase in people gathering for the free food and tent setting. (I’m a democratic-socialist type, not a conservative Republican, mind you, yet I can’t help but see the lack of desire to give back to one’s community.) When I engage them in political discourse, they know nothing or very little and seem rather unconcerned about current events or changing the system. (But we need donations, please!) Pointing out these and other problems, i.e., that the organization appears to be white-male dominated in a region with a large African-American community, causes people to be censored, yes, censored! And this Occupy even voted at a General Assembly to block certain people from expressing certain opinions they deem “harmful” on their web site. And would-be Occupiers are chastised or threatened with the possibility of being disassociated from Occupy should they “harm” the movement by pointing out problems within it.

It’s a sad, sorry thing to admit to, but I’ve been treated with more warmth and welcome by activist groups with whom I’ve strongly disagreed. Yep, I’m talking about activists not supportive of my political beliefs but who were friendly and welcoming. They understand the importance of speaking with people who disagree on many things but might be able to rally toward a common cause for the greater good.

(By the way, one such “common cause” can be the move to eliminate corporate funding of our politicians. Many activists, Tea Party and Occupy alike could agree on that one. We aren’t going to agree on everything, but we can agree to disagree on some issues then move on to the more important topics at hand. Occupy, are you listening?)

Ah, the irony. This blog was set up to critique corporate America, Wall Street tycoons, the greedy and selfish oppressors. Who would have thought that those protesting those evils would take on the very characteristics they claimed to denigrate? Who knew? Never, ever in a million years did I expect to find myself criticizing a group such as Occupy. And, in fact, I’m not criticizing the overall movement. I am criticizing an Occupy that happens to exist in my hometown.

Many people have branched off and started their own occupy and are choosing to disassociate themselves with the egomaniacs who’ve decided to command occupy. And it’s become an odd sort of competition. (Reminds me of an old Monty Python sketch of the philosophers’ soccer match. Kant and Nietzsche vs. Plato and Socrates; the Germans vs. the Greeks.) Which smart, thoughtful person who wants to make the world a better place can run faster? Can kick the ball harder?

Who’s the best activist? Will the activist who runs the fastest to the finish line please stand up? Sad really. Because I’m not interested in competing. I’m not seeking the limelight as an activist. This may be difficult to believe, but I dislike politics. I don’t want to wield power over the people, but I do want to see power to the people–as long as the people are taking on that tremendous responsibility by reading about history, reading the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and taking their role as co-governors of their country seriously. But to the extent people shirk responsibility, refuse to be educated, refuse to read and study and learn and think for themselves; to the extent that the people choose to just sit back lazily and vote for others to just make decisions for them because they don’t feel like taking the time to think carefully about or study the issues or get involved themselves, then we the people simply aren’t competent or qualified for the job. And that, my friends, is the common argument against democracy. People vote against their own interests. People vote for corrupt dictators. People, “we” the people, can be just as corrupt, just as greedy and selfish as corporate America and politicians.

And that is what I learned from the Occupy in my city. Cronyism, nepotism, corruption, censorship, sexism, racism, etc.–it’s all there at Occupy. When some of us protested on behalf of a member who was kicked out, we were censored. Yep, our comments, were removed.

Ah well. This bag lady has been cynical and jaded from the beginning. (So that’s why she’s mad!) As much as she’d hoped, she couldn’t believe that true change was possible in a country that has embraced corrupt, crony politics for so long. After all, Americans voted for Reagan then Bush. Where was Occupy then? Reagan made a HUGE cut in affordable housing for the poor. Why weren’t Americans upset about that? He spread propaganda that poor people were to blame for their situation, that this was the land of opportunity, so if you weren’t rich there truly was something wrong with you. Americans didn’t say a word on that, except to thank Reagan for being one of our “greatest” presidents. Yep, many Americans love that guy, to this day.

Did Americans really need to wait until they lost their own jobs, their homes, and their dreams before they could care about others less fortunate? If so, then that is a serious character flaw in us as a people that needs to be addressed. We voted against social safety nets to help the poor get back on their feet because we blamed the poor (and because we ourselves weren’t poor.) They choose to be poor, after all. But then when we lose our own jobs and find it impossible to replace them with new ones, how will we pay the rent? How will we pay for groceries?

Now there is no one to speak for us. We allowed education to become outrageously expensive so that only the rich can go to college. No more going back to school to learn a marketable skill. Education is off the table. We allowed unlimited freedom for large, multinational businesses to outsource labor, tax-free to third-world countries because we insist on maintaining a “free marketplace.” For them. But not for us. If I want to sell my hand-made jewelry on a public sidewalk, I’m forbidden.

Point is, we the people allowed this corruption to be fruitful and multiply. Why? We watched silently as others suffered and swallowed the kool-aid that it’s their own fault anyway. Until now. Until we find ourselves suffering from our own mean-spirited policies.

And that takes us back to Occupy, doesn’t it? The question is, are the Occupiers truly seeking social change or are they just using the movement to achieve their own selfish goals?

Considering that the Occupiers claim to represent 99% of the people, who are they to “kick out” people who are non-violent and who are trying to support what they claim to be fighting for? Who are they to censor their members and to intimidate them out of speaking?

Now here it is, the moment you haven’t been waiting for, my grievance, as published and viewed by at least four people so far. I had to publish it on a web site that opposes the Occupy movement, a web site I wouldn’t have even known existed if it weren’t for the attempts Occupy made to censor the opinions of several of us who disagreed with decisions made by a clique at Occupy who gathered a small number of people, labeled it a General Assembly and made decisions without the consent of the majority of us involved in the movement…

An open letter to Occupy (the one that practices censorship and exclusivity.) Yep, I know some of you are gonna read this… :

I’d just like to say that I think it is very interesting indeed that people like myself who were once your strongest supporters are now having to go on other web sites like this one, or perhaps meet with other activists not affiliated with Occupy Buffalo, because we are unable to get our voices heard at Occupy Buffalo. Are you trying to drive us over to the other side? No wonder the police/government aren’t harassing you and have agreed to let you stay in the square–you yourselves are doing so much damage to the Occupy movement that they don’t need to take you down. In fact, they love seeing you there as you are proving the negative stereotypes of Occupy to be true.

Like the US govt, you disallow dissent and refuse to allow opinions w/which you disagree. And so, like the US government, you are now facing rebellion from the people within your own organization. Do you not see the irony?

This is true even in the business world. When managers start to see their strongest employees quitting or getting fired, that is a warning sign that a business is failing.

You are, as they say, “shooting yourselves in the foot.” If you really cared about the issues, making things better for the 99%, etc., you’d want to include 99% of people in your community. Once you start accusing people of “harming” your organization by expressing opinions you don’t like, you lose credibility. Your Facebook site is not a privately-owned site, as you suggest, but a site that represents an organization that proclaims to be publicly owned, i.e., 99% “owned.”

I’ve been reading about the 60s and, ironically, that movement failed for the same reason. Women were disenfranchised by the “progressives” and hippies who claimed they wanted to form a more democratic society! Seriously, read about it. It’s in the history books. That’s how the women’s movement started. Women branched off and started their own movement. Then the 60s movement became more and more about a bunch of spoiled rich kids, “limousine liberals,” who’d never faced social injustice but claimed to be against it. The poor and working class had no place in that movement–just as women and other groups were displaced.

When people are criticizing you and branching off to start their own movement, that should be a clue that you need to take a closer look at your group and ask yourself the question: What can we do for our community so that people will see the value in our work? How can we show people that we are doing good work for our community? Instead, the Occupy in my town has chosen the same fascist, ruthless tactics corporate America uses time and time again: prevent people we don’t agree with from speaking, keep out dissent, but let’s keep asking the community to support us and give to us. Sorry, people, but it doesn’t work that way. Remember JFK’s famous words? “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” We as a society need to learn to give, to stop asking others to give to us but to focus on what we can give to others.